The Guardian of Tír na nÓg
by TheBronzeLion
Summary: Losing your love to the void between life and death is painful. And having been dead for over a year, Kurt realises that the world has moved on without him. So when Layla Cormac, the new teacher, begins babbling about Pagan Mythology, multiple afterlives and a string of kidnappings it sounds like the adventure he needs. Who better to deal with the afterlife than a demon?
1. Faith in the Fog

Anyone else would've mistaken their chanting for the wind that night.

Victoria's heart burned as she sprinted through the forest. Bare footfalls thudded so hard on the dirt that her ankles felt close to giving out. She spun, eyes searching desperately for something remotely recognisable in the area apart from towering trees and this damned fog!

'Oh god- Oh God!' It was the first chance she had alone to recognise the sticky substance smeared on her body, dripping off her hands and filling her nose with a smothering metallic stench that made her gag. The mixture of disgust and closing dread rolled her stomach but she couldn't stay still. They were coming for her!

It echoed around in her skull, bouncing off her brain to the point where she clutched her head in pain.

'LEAVE ME ALONE!' She shrieked as her knees buckled.

What do you do when you feel your life boiling down to one moment? When your weak, desperate and not enough anymore, who do you look to? Family were too far away and to self-serving to care about spawn. Friends? Victoria's left her to save their own skins… or did she leave them? Details are such grey little things. Like worms.

A gentle hand brushed against her back as she cried. Victoria bucked wildly away with a demented screech, her limbs kicked and punched towards whoever had caught her. The mystery-person snatched her wrists and pinned her against the closest tree with ease, another hand pressing her mouth shut.

'Be still!'

A twig snapped behind the tree and they both froze in place. The thick fog around them parted in smoking swirls as they slipped through the terrain with liquid fluidity. These hooded figures glided through the forest in an almost unearthly manner, pacing in calm, methodical strides.

Victoria somehow heaved her gaze to the stranger. A woman, tall and slender with striking blonde hair and such piercing green eyes that she was glad that the woman was glaring at the hooded figures as slowly stalked past. _If looks could kill_ took a whole new meaning.

A moment passed.

Then two.

Only when the chanting had dulled down into faint, indecipherable gibberish did the woman step back from smushing her body against the tree.

'Now I will take my hand off your mouth. You will remain silent. Understand?' She spoke softly, but with a faint accent that certainly wasn't American.

Victoria nodded.

The woman peeled back her hand, her tense expression eased when Victoria kept to her word and remained quiet. They took the time to regard each-other quickly. The woman wore a pristine white dress that seemed ripped out of a fantasy and in the right light her hair almost glistened with small jewels woven into it.

'Who are you?' She breathed, unable to maintain eye-contact with the stranger for long before checking over her shoulder for the hooded figures to re-appear like a horror film jump-scare.

'I'm here to help. You called for me Victoria.' She brushed a ratty piece of blood clotted hair out of Victoria's face and gently cupped her cheek.

She twitched away from the touch, but such an entrancing expression sucked her further into her sway. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. They streaked down her face in fat drops that cut through the caked grime. 'I wanted to explore my spiritual side not get hauled off by the cool-aid cult of witches banging on about freeing shit with virgin blood. Like, I'm not even a virgin!' Victoria babbled as they started to sneak back the way she came. 'Are you a spirit? They kept raving about spirits a-and cleansing the world!'

'I am The Guardian of Tir na Nog. Protector of the lonely and heartbroken. My name is Niamh, child.' She hushed sympathetically, 'I won't let them hurt you anymore.'

A hysterical scoff escaped, 'Fat lot of good you've been! Where were you when I was kidnapped? Where were you when- when…!'

'I've been trapped here for a long time. The fog was once a way to protect souls in Tir na Nog. Now, the gods use it as a cage.' Niamh stalked through the trees, only to duck back behind them at the slightest swirl of the fog. 'But you have the chance to make this right.'

'H-how?'

Suddenly, a bright flash of light struck between them, blasting the two away.

Victoria screeched, scrabbling in the dirt until she managed to climb to a stand. Everything swirled in a sickening motion, gravity spiralled and she felt herself staggering and hitting the ground once again. The hooded creature was all she could untangle from the dizzied visions and she choked on her thundering heart. 'NIAMH!'

Thunder echoed so powerful the ground itself quaked. Out of nothing the woman in white summoned a long sceptre of bleached wood, a strange circular piece of glass was fixed into the twined top. The glass changed colour as it swooped past the trees and Niamh slammed the staff into the ground. The world itself bent to her will as another roll of thunder forbade the hooded one's fates. The trees contorted, snapped and splintered as if it had bones to break. The twisting branches snagged the hooded ones around Niamh and Victoria, raising them into the air and curling into their bodies until it crushed them all in the canopy.

Niamh grinned. 'They will never touch us or this land again.'

'H-how?' Victoria propped herself up against the tree but flinched away in fear of being its next victim.

'All gods are given power through belief child. Yours allowed me to claim my sceptre and protect you.' She pointed to the mangled bodies. 'Now come. We escape this place. Where did you come from?'

Victoria looked around, taking a shuddered breath before nodding. She pointed to two trees that bowed and knitted together like folded gnarled hands. 'I went through those. It should lead to a tunnel that goes into the Sea caves. Those crones doused me in blood and some creepy glowing shit happened before I escaped. I don't know what will happen when we get there.'

Niamh just smiled, her hand gliding over the hilt of her sceptre. 'Don't dwell on such worry.'

For the first time in her ordeal Victoria felt… safe. No one could touch her with Niamh by her side. A small smile twitched her mouth. She beckoned and began to trace back her steps through the fog.

After a small amount of time they found the mouth of the tunnel, a yawning hole that inclined into the mountainside. Two pillars blocked the path with runes carved into the stone that radiated a dominating ancient magic. The pressure was enough to make both women rub their temples gently.

'Can your magic get through this?' Victoria swallowed nervously.

'No. This spell was cast by a god much stronger than I…' Niamh found it difficult to approach the pillars, pain evident in her expression. 'However, we can trick it. The living ones may pass back into your realm. We just need it to believe we are you.' Niamh glided back to Victoria, 'Let me have your body.'

'What?!' Victoria's eyes went wide.

'All you'll need to do is agree. I'll travel to the living world, dispose of the scum who did this to you and then come back to break down the barrier from the other side.'

Shaky strides had Victoria pacing away. Frustration built as she couldn't focus with that energy messing with her head. She cried out.

'Do you trust me?' Niamh's whispered words broke through the compressed fury that deafened her.

'Yes!'

'Then believe in me.' Niamh took Victoria's blood crusted hands and entwined them in her pale slender fingers.

Victoria looked up at the beauty in front of her. A vision who was willing to save someone as dirty and desperate as her. A small pang of adoration sparked in her chest and, somehow, Niamh responded, growing brighter like an angel.

'Say it.'

'I- I…'

Niamh smiled and let go of Victoria's hands, she held up the sceptre and through the glass, watched her with sharp scrutiny.

'I believe in you.'

By the time Victoria had the chance to look anywhere else the sceptre was taken away. In Niamh's place stood… Victoria. Deep brown curly hair replaced blonde, her dress changed into a business suit, the only thing that didn't change were her stunning eyes.

Slowly Niamh stepped back. Through the pillars with staff in hand. A spark of green momentarily froze her, but It didn't hurt any more as she passed through. She looked back at Victoria a triumphant grin on her face.

'You'll come back for me, right?'

Niamh responded nodding gently. 'There will be more Victoria… lost in the fog. Should you find them make sure they believe in me too. I'll be able to protect you better if more souls believed in me.'

'Yes.'

With that, Niamh disappeared into the tunnel.

In the silent fog, Victoria realised she couldn't feel the cold. The wind that rattled the trees didn't tousle her hair or brush her skin.

Numb. She was numb.

Slowly, through the licking fog she saw them, the wind had stopped yet the rustled noises churned into the heart stabbing chanting. The hooded creatures relentlessly closed in on her and all Victoria could do was turn to the gateway.

'Niamh!' She cried, checking over her shoulder as the horrors slithered closer. She pressed forward but the pillars blazed with furious green energy, throwing her back from the escape. 'NIAMH!'

The only thing she felt was fear.

…

Her wretched screams echoed through the tunnel, but Niamh had other priorities. She could smell the sea, hear the waves she ached to listen to again. The cold prickling against her skin made her heart rise with unadulterated joy and she laughed. Oh, how she laughed as she marched through the sea tunnel, her eyes casting on every witch that sat chanting for her return!

'Mistress. The world has changed since your last visit.' One of her followers shimmied forward on her knees in the wet sand.

'And how I despise it so.' Niamh sighed. 'But we have work to do I take it?'

'New creatures have surfaced. Mutants and other super powered beings. They- they aren't natural my lady. They poison the land.'

'And this is what you ask of me in repayment.'

The witches nodded.

'Very well. But Tir na Nog is fading. The gods are not as strong as they once were. I wish to restore it to the paradise it once was before the void swallows it.' Her eyes landed on the surf, the shallow waves that went back and forth in bubbling delight. She fought the melancholy that washed over her, only allowing steady steps as she made it to the mouth of the cave.

'You need more belief?'

'No,' she smiled softly. 'I need utter devotion.'


	2. Employment, Whisky and the Blue Devil

Anger didn't even begin to cover the mood Storm was stewing in this morning. She tossed yet another file into her desk drawer and slammed it shut. 'That was the fifth one in three months!'

Kurt sunk in the chair, feeling very much like a young boy bracing for a scolding.

'So?' Logan crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. If Kurt didn't know any better he would have guessed dear Wolverine was there so he could escape out of the window at the first whiff of trouble. 'Why are we here?'

A quick headcount through the room noted that aside from him and Logan, Hank and the resident nurse Annie had also been called into the meeting. An eclectic group to say the least but his friend did have a point. Why were they there?

Ororo's eye twitched a little and she folded her hands on the desk. 'We have been black listed by the national board of teachers for a number of reasons that they sent me _by letter._ There was a length of issues presented as well as highly detailed complaints.'

'Did you stress the "by letter" bit on purpose?' Annie's fed-up attitude practically emanated from the chair next to him. 'Because if the problem is being stuck in the 17th century then I don't see why we were called in this early.'

'Stand. Up.'

Annie did so reluctantly and Ororo handed her the letter. As soon as Annie grasped it, the letter unravelled to the floor.

Hank tweaked his glasses as he inspected it. 'Is that fax paper?'

'Yes, and it's double sided.' The headmistress sat back in her chair and individually locked eyes with the four. 'Your names were mentions specifically.'

'What could we have possibly done to offend them?' Hank's stunned expression spoke volumes. This couldn't have been said for some of the people in the room but he was always cautious and cordial with the newest human hires.

It had been a long time since the worry had surfaced but as Kurt met Hank's gaze it was evident that they both had the same idea. Were people still uncomfortable with their appearances?

'Hank, you were mentioned for academic insult!' Annie snorted as she engrossed herself in the paragraphs of nicely worded ranting.

'Take this seriously.'

''Ro, why is this so important?' Kurt tilted his head, briefly scanning the letter over Annie's shoulder. 'We can't force humans to like us mein freund.' When Annie shot a look at him he flashed an apologetic grin, 'no offence.'

'With elf. You tried the experiment. It didn't work. Move on.' Logan put as delicately as a jackhammer.

'Because one day they will have to go out into the world, a world full of humans, and they need to be comfortable around them. Having more human staff would ease the process of leaving. The Jean Grey school will always be a safe place for mutants but the students can't stay forever.'

'Yeah, and we're not _all_ complete mutant-phobes.' Annie shot a smug smile back at Kurt.

'Some of the students have come from traumatic backgrounds. Is this wise?' He should know. Being chased by the definition of an angry mob is something you never forget; Pitchforks and all.

'Hence why these teachers were carefully chosen and certain rules were put in place for them.' Ororo rubbed her temple gently, 'I admit this is more challenging than I expected, but I'm trying one last time before I contest. We need to address these issues before she arrives today.'

'Who's the new teacher? I thought the Board had blacklisted us.'

'The American Board has. This one is journeying from Ireland.' She rooted in the drawer and handed a file out to the group. 'Her name is Dr Layla Cormac. She taught for three years at a Special Needs Catholic school and has a Doctorate in the Arts. We are very lucky she was available.'

'Why did she leave her job?' Logan scanned the document and the picture of a cheerful woman with naive brown eyes and red bushy hair.

'She's Pagan.'

'Oh.' Kurt muttered, hoping she didn't have any bitter feelings towards Christians. He noted she was quite a pretty woman and he'd no doubt her personality was just as charming as her smile. The thought of not having the opportunity to talk to her because his mere existence left a bitter taste. He passed on the file. 'So, what're the problems we have to fix. Do I need to find my modulator?' He knew exactly where it was of course, for emergencies.

'No, nothing like that. She knows what she's signed up for. But the letter from the Board mentioned- and I quote, "Bamf Harassment". It is seriously now a legal clause. I have to ask, please keep the them away from her whilst she's settling.'

Kurt nodded. Not that it was a simple thing to keep track of about 50 smaller versions of himself. True, he had a mental connection with them but to an extent they had their own autonomy. Some were easier to comply than others. He'd at least try reign them in once he was out of the meeting.

'Hank, I shouldn't need to tell you twice to not undermine the teacher's credentials. Annie, stop telling them just how often this place is attacked.'

'It's true!'

'They know the protocol they don't need to be told they may die at any moment from rubble, lasers or explosions!'

Annie pouted. 'Those are the good stories,' she muttered.

'And Logan…'Ororo and him exchanged a heated exchange of serious staring. It stretched out but no one dared break the silence.

After a long moment Logan nodded stiffly, 'Violence. Got it.'

'What about the fifth one?' Annie quizzed, tossing the file to Hank. 'The guy was cool. Met him often for heart treatment and the letter said he left due to- and I quote, "stress from upper management."'

Storm's eyes narrowed.

'Be very careful.' Kurt murmured, successfully biting back a small smirk with his fangs.

'All I'm saying is that we _all_ seem to be guilty in this room… and that 'Ro need to ease off a little. I wasn't kidding when I said the last guy was nice.'

'Fine. I shall consider giving her some space to adjust. Luckily Miss Cormac has no severe conditions.'

Hank squinted at the very bottom of her file. 'She does have a congenital left-hand anomaly… It's written in small print at the bottom of her file.'

Annie ooh-ed sinisterly.

'English?'

'Miss Cormac is, um, effectively…' when silence responded he awkwardly elaborated in a quiet voice, 'clinically disabled.'

A red light blipped on the desk, along with a voice on the speakers, 'X-men, there's another attack on mutants in progress. It's the cultists again. Code Orange for the school.'

…

Layla stood, stiff as a pencil, slap bang in the middle of the lobby next to her suitcase and the three boxes carrying all her worldly possessions.

'Hello?' She sheepishly called into the empty halls. The front desk was unmanned. Not a soul to be found. All she could do was bob about and wait.

And to think she was worried about being late, running around like a mad hen trying to catch a cab at the airport. 'Well… hi home.'

The large white room was topped with a glass, domed roof allowing the lovely autumn evening glow to seep in. The whole place felt modern and tech with glowing panels for information, but it integrated with lovely strong trees and a water feature. Stiffly she shuffled over to the plants and sat on the smooth wall surrounding it. Hopefully she didn't look like she was loitering for no reason.

Ten minutes later she decided to fix her hair so she looked less like a bridge troll and more like a civilised human being. A yawn tried to escape as she pinned it into a bun.

Another twenty minutes and she'd walked a complete circuit round the hall, reading every glowing panel in the room. Most of them were memorials. Layla noted to pay her respects with some flowers later. Was it regulation approved? She'd read over the thick documentation Headmistress Monroe sent over so many times that the paragraphs barely registered as words anymore, yet she still felt like smashing her head against it _again_ in hopes of beating it all into her drowsy, thick skull.

She started nervously brushing her stump against her hand in a done-and-dusted motion. It helped her keep calm even if it did hurt the bones in her stump slightly. Nerves forced her heart to thud in her chest and never mind cold feet, her whole lower body was numbed from the potent combination of sitting through an 8-hour flight and fear. That and her stomach felt like it was training for the Paralympic gymnastics team. _What if they don't like you? What if the kids don't like you?_ There's _no family to save you half-way across the world._ The little shit of a voice that everyone has whispered in the back of her mind.

'You'll be fine. They are normal people and you just have to. _Be. Yourself_.' She breathed, slotting the phone back into her back pocket.

When she circled round back to the boxes however, she found a small blue creature poised on pile. It spun round on the lid, trying to pull open the flap it was currently sitting on with stubby little fingers. It seemed unaware of her, a little whine escaped and its tail flicked about in irritation.

Her whole body froze as she just observed it- no him. He looked like a he. Oh shite, what if she were wrong? What if it was one of the students! He looked a little young to be a student but who the feck knew nowadays. The world was crazy with conspiracies, aliens raining from the sky and new mind-bending world calamities practically happened every Tuesday. Space is warped and time is bendable. This little guy could be thousands of years old and the font of all knowledge for all she knew!

Just as Layla began spiralling down into untold levels overthinking the little blue imp lifted its head and sniffed the air. He snapped around to stare at her, huge yellow eyes blinked slowly.

'Hi.' _Oh, such profound and insightful conversation._ She cleared her throat and attempted a smile, 'What's up?'

 _Remind me, how did you ever become a doctor?_

After just staring at her for a couple of second, he returned back to pulling at the box flaps.

Ok, so maybe not incredibly smart as the lid had only two strips of masking tape to hold him back. Mind you she wasn't exactly acting smart by just watching him break into her personal belongings either. 'Hey, please stop that sir.' Layla slowly approached, trying to appear as none-threatening as possible until she put her hand on the box.

Blue looked up at her and by god if it wasn't the most gut punching puppy-dog eyes she'd seen in a while. If she allowed herself to switch off, no doubt her heart would be a puddle on the floor. But unfortunately for him, she was a teacher, and teachers know when they're being played.

'Mmm-hm. Very cute, I bet that works on all the ladies.' She quirked an eyebrow down at him. His lip wobbled and she tried her best not to laugh, 'There's nothing in there other than my candles and incense. Sorry to disappoint.' Bit of a lie. She also had a bottle of whisky that her Nana bought her as a going away gift. But no one needed to know that apart from her.

He shot her a scowl before proceeding to scamper up her arm and perch on her shoulder. That also ruled out possibility of being a student. No student would _ever_ in a million years act like this. 'So, er, do you talk at all?'

A little rumble that sounded like a cat about to meow emanated by her head.

'I'll take that as a no. Should I even ask for a name?' Again, nothing. She decided to just call him Blue for now. 'So, do you know where anyone is? It's kinda quiet.' Layla briefly wondered if this was going to be a common occurrence. There's nothing that makes you feel quite as small as an empty building. So, quiet you could hear the wind whistling outside the walls and the rattling of some far-off machinery, probably a power generator. Goosebumps shivered down her spine.

She wasn't alone though. There were bound to be people she could at least to make friends with; find some work friends or… _someone_ if she stayed put. This place was too clean to be abandoned.

Layla took another breath. 'And I have you, don't I-?'

Blue's weight shifted off her shoulder and down to her waist. His little hands thieving a pair of keys from her pocket with a wicked grin.

'Hey!'

It jumped off her and, mid leap, disappeared in a cloud of brimstone smoke. Surprise and the odd sense of the air imploding so close sucked the air right out of her. 'What the-? Ye wee little-'

BAMF!

The sound erupted from behind and she spun on her heel to catch the imp sawing through the tape with her house keys.

'Cheeky devil!'

Blue cackled and lifted one of the flaps triumphantly, crawling into the box.

'No!' She shoved her hands in after him and scooped him out. He scrabbled and produced strange noises of growling protest as she dumped him on the floor. 'No.' She pointed a finger at him.

Blue just grinned and- BAMF!

The box started shaking and Layla growled. She put her hand back in again only for a sharp pain to shoot from her finger. She flinched but still grabbed onto the critter, pulling him out of the box by his tail with a bloodied hand. He in turn, pulled out the bottle of whisky with him.

'You bit me!' She wasn't angry, more shocked at the sudden betrayal. He happily hung upside-down, gnawing at the bottle cap to gain access to the alcohol. 'I only have a limited number of fingers ya cheeky eijit, I'd like to keep em.'

Just then Layla heard movement. In panic, she dropped Blue back into the box and jammed the lid shut with not-so-causal leaning. The biggest guilty smile slapped itself on her face.

A woman in a white nurses' uniform appeared in the hall, a coat half slung on. When she glanced up from her phone her eyes went wide. The nurse looked as panicked as Layla, looking left and right for an escape.

'Hiii!' Layla laughed, because heaven knows why she extended her greeting like a maniac.

'You're the newbie.' The woman pointed at her.

'Yup, that's me. The new guy. Newbie. Totally new to… _all of this_.' She gestured to the room, slamming her hand back on the box when Blue tried to burst out.

'Riiight.' The nurse nodded slowly, looking away because why would you want to watch the stupidity going on at this moment in time- god she could kick herself! 'Well I'm Annie Ghazikhanian, one of the resident nurses. We didn't expect you for another hour.'

'Planes am I right?' Layla scoffed. 'How dare they fly.'

Silence reigned as they both just tried to work out how to escape this new slice of hell.

'Well most of the teachers you should have met are either in class or on a missi-' Annie paused, 'I mean a field trip….'

'Ok. So, what should I do?' Layla's cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling.

'I'll show you to your room. You can settle and take some time to… relax after your journey.'

She was freaked out. Great. But playing the nerves off as travel sickness wasn't a bad idea. Layla sighed and nodded, 'Thank you.'

Annie reached for the boxes.

'Ah!' Layla lifted the one with Blue inside away from the nurse, 'Could you take those two, I'll hold this one and the suitcase. The tape was torn in travel and I need to keep the stuff contained.'

'Sure.' Annie gave her a weird look before gathering them up. 'Follow me.' She started pacing towards an elevator in the far end of the hall. They crammed in and Annie punched in the floor number.

'What field trip are they on?'

'Hu?'

'The trip… the one you mentioned. What are they up to?'

'Oh, you know, public relations.' Annie bit her lip, as if holding in a joke, 'Just hope they don't bring it back here again.'

'Why not?'

'Let's just say it causes a lot of problems in the school.'

Her heart dropped like lead, 'Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realise things were still that bad between mutants and humans.'

'What? No, not like that. I mean people round here are still wary of humans. Like, I'm only here cause of my son. You'll get the odd sucky stink eye.' Annie looked incredibly nervous. The question tipped her too far as she just sighed. 'You know that silence we had earlier, wasn't that great?'

What wasn't she saying? By the way she was fiddling with random items it was clear she wanted to talk. Maybe it wasn't proper… She did as she was told and stood in silence, only moving to scratch her nose with her stump. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Annie staring, only to look away when Layla turned her head.

It was a surprise to still be stared at, even in when mutants and cyborgs and goodness knows what else has become normal, but who was she to deny some fun. She restrained a dark chuckle of delicious mischief and turned away again.

When Annie went back to staring, she carefully stared moving it again, up and down, left to right. Sometimes people forget that they are actually watching something that can stare back at them and their confused expressions. The endless amusement!

'What happened? If I may ask.'

So much for silence. But to be fair she was glad Annie had decided to ask. Talking was better than awkward silence and this conversation she could answer in her sleep. 'I never did kick that nail biting habit,' she sighed, shooting a smirk.

Annie blanked until she got over the surprise and started to chuckle with Layla.

'Seriously? I was just born this way. I'm sure I wrote it down on the forms I sent through.' In tiny, _tiny_ writing so as not to be judged by it.

'Yeah, we knew. Just asking if you knew how it- uh… happened.' Annie almost said it as if it were some sort of tragedy. But it wasn't though. Just normal. She was just normal, and that would become abundantly clear once she was surrounded by mutant students and teachers.

'Nope. As big a mystery as the Bermuda Triangle. Not genetic and my ma didn't take any squiffy drugs either.' She shook her head, 'Sometimes we just are who we are.'

The doors pinged, 'Floor four.'

As they walked down the hall, her mind wandered back to Blue. Was he someone's pet? He had been suspiciously quiet but the weigh hadn't changed. He was definitely still in there. As she strained her ears she could just about hear the quiet gulping coming from inside.

'Ye bloody mare,' she muttered under her breath. He's gotten into the bottle!

'Hu?' Annie glanced over at her.

Layla shook her head and stiffly smiled. 'Nothing.'

'This is your room, I'm guessing you've got the key.' They stopped in front of a door right at the end of the hall.

She nodded and extracted the key from her pocket. Slotting it into the lock, the door buzzed open.

'Security,' Annie mentioned again as she pushed into the rooms, 'all sorts of tec about yet they insist on keeping it as normal as possible.'

Layla shuffled in after her only to gape by the door. She did not expect this much space! There was a small living area as soon as they walked in, already with furniture such as a couch and TV, up two steps there was a wide-open space, to the left there was barely anything, enough for a painting and spiritual stations. A big 90-degree desk installed in the very corner of the room. Windows panelled the wall from the desk to the right side of the room where a double bed sat, clean and unmade, with two bedside tables and beautifully modern lamps. Finally, there was a door that, after a quick head duck inspection, turned out to be a modest size bathroom.

'I- I can't take this. This is too much.'

Annie laughed, 'You'll be surprised at what a mess can do.'

She honestly could've worked out of a shoebox and still been happy here. Layla couldn't stop grinning for real, spinning around in shock. 'Thank you.'

'Thank Ororo when she gets back. She's the boss.' Annie shrugged. They both dumped the boxes and suitcase on the bed and sighed. 'So, you'll want a map of this place… Oh- and food is available from 6am-9:30am for breakfast, 12am-1:30pm for lunch and 6pm-9pm if you don't want cold stuff for dinner. And get in quick if you want any coffee any time, people are willing to fight and cheat for that caffeine fix. Us normies have to weasel our asses off to get close.'

'Normies?'

'My nickname for us boring folk. Now two of us work in the school. Kinda relieved I'm not the only one.'

'Oh…'

I'd best be going. Lock down "Code Orange", have to check see if my son is ok. Someone will swing by or e-mail you with the details later.'

Layla could only nod and lead her to the door. She would ask what code orange was, but she was certain it was in the huge document she had yet to memorise. 'I forgot to ask, what's your son's name?'

Annie looked back cautiously, 'Carter.'

'Say hi to Carter for me. And sorry for holding his busy Ma up.'

Annie lit up, all awkwardness averted for now. 'I will.'

A thought resurged in the back of her mind just as she was leaving. 'Oh, by the way you wouldn't know anything about blue people around her would you. Quite small, about this big,' she indicated size with her hands.

'Shit.'

'What?' Layla blanched. Was it that bad? Did she desecrate something? Was this a secret she shouldn't have discovered? WOULD SHE BE FIRED BECAUSE OF THIS?!

'Sounds like the Bamfs- Damn it Kurt! They haven't swarmed, have they?'

They? _Swarm?!_ 'No. I just… saw… one- what do you mean by swarm? Who's Kurt?!'

'Just stay there. Don't leave. If you see a Bamf just stay as still and as boring as possible.' She started running down the hallway, 'And don't feed them!'

'What are they, Gremlins?!'

When she didn't respond, Layla deflated. Left in the dust and feeling like she'd been beaten up by an oversized egg whisk, she flopped back into her room.

Bed. Bed sounded good right now. She kicked off her boots by the door and made her way back, with full intentions just to face-plant into the squishy surface. When confronted with the boxes, she just shoved them over and curled into the space left. Organising could happen in five minutes. Her eyelids sunk with a pleasant warm weight and gravity itself seemed to agree that this was best and it rooted her in place.

'Gulgh.'

She groaned, sitting up to glare at the box closest to her. Her fingers cautiously lifted up the box-flap.

Inside, Blue cradled an empty bottle of whisky, taking the term "completely sloshed" to a whole new level. That much alcohol should have killed a person his size! She considered changing his name to Gizmo, but didn't have time to dwell on it as Blue made a disgusting gurgle and turned pale.

Her eyes widened in horror. She grabbed him and launched into the bathroom. 'Don't ye dare vomit!'


	3. Nice to meet you!

Hahaha long Hiatus time! Time to actually continue the story. Ready for this mess?

I sure am! :D

* * *

A roar erupted from within the trees, only for the furious Wolverine to fly out of the foliage, heading straight for a devastating impact with a pillar. In an explosion of sulphuric smoke, another body struck the brick with a sickening crunch.

They thudded to the floor in a heap.

Nightcrawler struggled to his feet first. He didn't know why he was laughing as he spat out blood. Maybe it was the thought that he should've been snapped clean in half. Was he in shock? Possibly. Was this just a byproduct of being spat out from the afterlife? Probably!

Wolverine wheeled round with a growl, 'What the hell are you doing?!'

'Saving your spine.' He smiled, punctuating the point by stretching his back, wincing as several bones popped all the way down to his tail. Being unable to die unfortunately didn't mean painlessness. Ach, he'd feel that for months!

He offered his hand to Wolverine but it was swatted aside. His gaze lingered on Logan's claws. Blood dripped down the adimantium blades from his knuckles.

'Logan-'

He simply flicked the blood off, failing to hide his wince. 'Don't pull that shit again.'

Kurt frowned. No matter how hard Logan tried to forget it, he was no longer indestructible. Charging around like he was the same shot fear strait into Kurt's heart. Of course, he didn't want to hear any of that. His snarl said as much.

'I didn't ask you to.'

When did it become so hard to talk to his friend?

Vines and branches forced themselves up through the cracks in the concrete, splintering and bursting out with inhuman rage.

…maybe the brawl around them didn't help.

'Ah look, we need your gardening sheers!' Kurt teleported to the top of the pillar, perching and twitching around, tuning into something no one else could sense.

Wolverine slashed at the slithering vines and branches that twisted and bent unnaturally like broken, gnarled fingers.

Vicious greenery was a common an enemy… on alien worlds.

'Where're your swords Elf?' Logan asked. Not that he needed help, he was quite happy diving at raging flora for some excessive pruning.

'Uh. Well, stuck in an angry Pine.' His tail swished round the pillar in embarrassment.

Something wasn't right. The strange ebb and flow across his thin layer of fur was an old feeling. One full of nostalgia, bright colored tents, shadows dancing along the tarp as people drank outside. A gentle hand in the night chasing away the terrors and humming forgotten songs. The feeling only a person who had grown up around witches would recognise.

'You lost to a _tree?'_

The tips of Nightcrawler's ears turned a bright shade of purple. He returned to the prickling feeling. It brushed like the tide on a warm day, pushing and pulling against the very fabric of reality. Only the grit under his fingertips, the solid touch of the wall that managed to ground him back to reality.

'Magic…' His eyes scanned the forest they were spat out of. Whoever was casting did not want them in there. He pressed the communicator in his ear. 'Storm, do you read?'

As if on cue the clouds darkened and roiled in the wind. The commanding boom of thunder rumbled enough to make the ground quake. 'Yes,' came her crackled reply.

'The attack is magical, I'm certain. They want to keep us out of the forested area north-east.'

His fur only gave him a second's warning as sharp lightning struck the ground like a whip in the distance. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a creeping, snake-like vine with thick spiked branches bristling with thorns rear to swat him off his perch.

'What?' Logan yelled over the thunder, fending of wires of grass trying to grow and garrote him.

'I said,' Kurt snapped a thick branch off a vine that reared itself, 'it was a _magic_ tree!' The crunching force of his swing toppled the wooden beast. He stared wide eyed, shocked at his own ferocity. Nothing was like hitting something to feel like he had a little bit more control. Boy did he need it.

'You think getting your ass kicked by a "magic" tree is any better?' Wolverine snorted.

Kurt laughed. 'Not really.' The ball of nerves he'd been squashing throughout the fight felt like it were violently clattering around his chest. He couldn't let this happen. He shouldn't be like this in the field. He'd never admit he'd almost got impaled by said Pine because he was paying too much attention to everyone's glaring mortality. With a slow breath, he pressed the worry back down.

'Copy. Let's end this. Wolverine, Nightcrawler, re-group. Time to find our culprit.' Storm crackled through. Kurt had never been more relieved to hear the crackle of the communicator. Just keep moving.

He dropped from the pillar, shooting a half-way convincing smirk as he tossed away the branch that was strangely decaying. In fact, every plant around them had begun to shrivel, turning grey and turning to dust beneath their feet.

…

'SWEET BEJESUS!' Layla screeched as she landed on the floor by her bed. She would have paid more attention to her pounding headache and the horrible shivers across her skin if not for the god-awful stink that assaulted her when she sat up.

Blue garbled from her bed, blinking with owlish yellow eyes as she sat up. The mere picture of bloody innocence. If innocence had a raging hangover, given the paler complexion, limp hair, bags under the eyes and a sway that suggested she'd better be armed and ready to toss him back into the bathroom at any second…

She pinched her nose and wafted her little hand about. As if that would do anything. 'What the heck do they feed you- uck!'

A delightful mix of sick, lavender, salt and… Brimstone? Something smoky and probably bad for general health. It was the same smell that Blue's teleportation produced if she recalled correctly.

'You… are officially banned from this room. Yea been nothin but trouble since I got here.' Her stomach rolled as she stood too quickly. What the hell was wrong with her?

The devil on her bed chittered and followed her as she wheeled round to open the window. It grabbed her sleeve and tried to pull her back before it ran out of bed and just hung off her clothing like a child.

Lightning struck the ground violently. The thunderous force rattled the windows in their frames from a mile away. Blue's fur spiked on edge as the air itself felt charged with the intense energy.

Howling winds, trees in the distance blazing like little matchsticks before having their pain snuffed out by the rain. Something about the storms always calmed her. Reminded her how small she was. But there was something else. Under the electricity, the rhythm of the rain she could easily sleep to and the thunder that gripped her heart like a leash to be dragged by...

It took a moment too realize she was holding her breath. Pressing her hand to the glass. Probably not smart to open a window in a storm to clear the air, as much as she loathed to keep the aroma fermenting all over her things. Lingering like the imp that produced it. She shot a hard stare down at the culprit swinging on her sleeve.

Tea. Tea could solve this. It got her out of the room, she could clear her head and maybe even find a hangover cure for her only friend on the… entire continent.

She shuffled towards the exit, praying to the gods that she'd would meet someone new. Unfortunately, she never reached the door.

Sulphuric smoke exploded around her as space imploded and she pitched into what could only be described as a war zone of lightning, foliage and blood.

…

The last of the outer fortification, a lattice of twigs, branches and desperate roots shredded together to form the feeblest of barriers; unable to withstand against the lightning punching holes through or the fire licking the rest away into ash.

The formidable pine that had trounced him so heavily on the other side of the battle zone, was a pale shadow. It waned, paling to a sickly grey and bowing in on itself as if the energy was being sapped away into the construction of the barrier. It tried pathetically to curl in to swat Nightcrawler as he scaled the charred trunk, but the branches could barely support his weight without dissolving or snapping painfully. Pulling his swords free from the bark, he grinned unashamedly. Swords and job satisfaction all in one. Though the fight was… underwhelming to say the least.

'Nightcrawler!'

He teleported back down to the ground and approached the team, swinging his swords before sliding them into their sheaths flamboyantly. Everyone looked worse for wear, doused in rain with leaves or sticks in their hair. Wolverine, Storm, Beast and Rachel.

Storm didn't have time to move the hair out of her face, swishing it back with a twitch of her head as she brought up a hologram of the area. 'The plants don't seem to have any set strategy. Apart from keeping us away from this point.' A little red marker blipped up.

'Then whomever is causing this would logically be within the protective circle.' Beast chipped in. 'And see how the plant aggression dwindles to reinforce certain areas.'

Rachel's eyes had glossed over. 'I… I can't sense anything. It's scrambled. As if a lot of voices are talking- or someone not thinking clearly? I don't know how many are in there.'

Nightcrawler watched the group as they sped through information. It was like an extreme match of verbal ping-pong the way the next person snatched up the opportunity to speak. Or a well-oiled machine he'd yet to fully integrate himself into. Maybe it was the rust showing from his absence… 'Try and give Nightcrawler a line of sight into the centre. Beast, go with him and figure out what's going on in there. Wolverine and I will cause a distraction to the west.' Ororo didn't wait for her team to respond before flying back into the air. They knew what to do.

'Chop our way into the middle and find the sucker who did this? Like it.' Wolverine ran after Storm with a wicked grin and the devil in his eye.

'Really, you enjoy danger? What a surprise!' Kurt yelled, grinning as Logan flipped him off without even looking back.

Once there were gone he breathed out, preparing for the turbulent feeling of chain teleportation.

'Ready?' Hank laid a hand on his shoulder, confidence in his ability plain as day.

'Always.'

'Three.' the voice crackled over the radio.

They stood as close as they could possibly get to the towering barrier dome without getting attacked.

'Two.'

His heart hammered, gripping the hilt of a sword with one hand and holding onto Beast with the other. 'We have to be fast.'

'One.'

'Let the Bamfs help.'

Kurt nodded, calling to them and telling them first and foremost to stay safe. Lightning crackled in the sky and a psychic blast thundered with rippling force through the air.

'GO!'

The branches flinched away, leaving the slimmest of openings.

Licks of smoke and the gut feeling of teleportation shot them through space, like threading a needle between the bramble and brush. The Bamfs and their power merged with his own like a slingshot and the momentum threw them deep into the thicket and they barely had time to vault over contorted trunks snapping and splintering to block them.

 _ **BAMF!**_

Kurt could see the clearing, wet grass dappled by light. He focused on the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel he didn't realize how much space they had lost until Hank's hand was ripped away from his shoulder.

The crushing claustrophobia slammed their bodies into the foliage and trunks. Vines wound round their limbs and grew taught. It kept them apart as it began to break them like a curious child seeing how far its toys could be yanked before they were torn apart. More wrapped around his neck, wrists, lashing out to whip and tie down his tail.

Hank saw the opportunity, but Kurt shook his head. No- not again. There was no space he could teleport without impaling himself through the vines and branches. 'GO!' He roared. A crunching pop killing the rest of his message as one of his arms was ripped out of his socket.

Sulphur exploded and a rather bedraggled, woozy Bamf grabbed Beast, hiccupping before disappearing again. Kurt didn't have time to contemplate what on earth had happened to it or why that bamf seemed borderline suicidal. He barely even had space to even breathe before he teleported.

THUD. He landed on the grass rolling and rose to his knees, gasping for air and ripping the disembodied vines that had tried to choke him away from his neck. With a shiver and a quick lash of his tail, joints and bones popped back into the appropriate sockets. A bone deep relief washed over him as he gathered his bearings on wherever he'd toppled into.

Inside the dome you would have never known there was a raging fight outside, apart from rain dripping down through the branches. It felt like something from a folktale, surrounded in a deep layer of very old magic. It seeped into the skin and mind, resting like a warm blanket to smother the senses no matter what he did. A dilapidated shed sat, coated in a thick film of moss, the window smashed in and one corner had begun to be uprooted by the trunk of a large red tree. It sat still and calm, however he wasn't planning on taking any chances.

Slowly his hands went to the hilts of his blades and pulled them silently out of their sheaths.

No one. Not a soul dared to disturb this place. Silent as the grave.

Another thunderous blast hit the dome.

'Hallo? Anyone, do you read?'

The communicator fizzled. If he listened, the static began to sound like voices. Many, many voices whispering shouts at… him?

 _Hurry! Run!_

A shadow stumbled from behind the shed, it's feet dragging heavily as it staggered into view. It's black eyes bore into him as if trying to rip out his very spirit. One heavy step, then another, it's eyes locked onto the swords and hefted the heavy object into its hands. The glint of an axe blade was something he'd never forgotten and the same dread crushed his chest.

A shriek burst out from the creature, covered in blood it staggered out into the light, swinging it axe directly at his head.

He ducked and teleported behind her. With a firm kick he swept her legs out from under her and pointed the sword tip at her neck…

Her mouth dropped open at the swords. It was to be expected, that she was utterly terrified as she scrambled back in the mud, but what followed did surprise him.

'More? Gods you're tall!'

'And handsome, I know.' He flashed a grin, 'I'm Nightcrawler. Now tell me who you are and what you hoped to achieve by attacking us.'

 _Wait, more?_

'I- attack? I- where am I?!'

He crouched over her and examined the woman further. She seemed familiar, but it was hard to tell with the blood and dirt. His face deadpanned. 'Who are you?'

'Layla! Layla Cormac.' She stammered through the sobs that threatened to take over her speech. 'P-please don't kill me I have no idea how I got here!'

It felt like a weight had crashed right through his body and all the blood ran to the pit of his stomach, 'The art teacher?'

She nodded, covering her mouth, sucking in air as she began to panic.

His swords dropped with a clatter. 'How-' His mind recalled the suicidal Bamf that had saved Hank's life moments before.

Bamf Harassment.

'Oh.' He licked his lips and proceeded to do the clumsiest back-pedaling in all of recorded history. 'Well, I'm Kurt Wagner. Drama and Language professor… Nice to meet you!'

Layla could barely even register what had even happened to her. _This_ was what she had been warned about? This was Kurt? Well she didn't believe in devils or the satanic implications that followed, to her he would have been about as evil as any other man on the street under ordinary circumstances. However they were not on the street. and at that moment she would have swung an axe at anyone who came barreling into the scene with sharp weaponry like he had. So why had they warned her?

Unless...

Had this happened more than once?

Finding the whole thing so wildly absurd, did the only thing she'd been practicing ever since she had gotten the job. She stuck out her hand so violently she almost smacked him in the face. Perhaps she had wanted to if her hunch was correct. But now didn't seem the time to attack a friend in this place... again- details, details!

He awkwardly bent inward to shake it, soaking in what little remaining warmth hadn't been doused in rain. The touch was like a sigh of relief. A cut through the gossamer haze that told them nothing here was real. He leaned back on his haunches and bowed his head a little, surprised at how she took everything now that he wasn't threatening her. Something he would have to apologies for later.

She regarded him like a man, unfazed at the three fingers, tail or general blueness. Said tail swished merrily behind him, yet her eyes never seemed to leave his face. Small smiles lifted at the corners of their mouths as their handshake became more wonky, vigorous and ridiculous by the moment.

'Thank the gods!' She cried, a bubble of hysteria shaking her shoulders.

He soothed staring at the large bloodstains coating her hands and chest. The mess still sticky as it transferred to his hands. 'Are you alright?'

Her gentle smile slid back down and their hands stilled. It had only meant to be a way to check on her but the goodwill that had accumulated between them, in that moment, burst. Her hand gripped his, a lifeline as the words tumbled out weakly.

'There's a body under the tree.'

* * *

This is a 2 parter so stay tuned for the next part and thank you for reading!

Do drop a like or a comment they really do brighten my day hearing from you guys :)


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